Sunday to Sunday

Heading up to Cerro Monserrate

Today was my first Sunday in Bogotá and it was pretty great! I went to a Mennonite Church this morning and then walked around the city for hours with Bekah and Magali, whom I’ll be working with. We had a great lunch and then checked out Cerro Monserrate – a church on top of a mountain beside downtown Bogotá -  which had a great view of the city.

 We all got pretty wet when it went from light rain to a deluge, but still a great day!

The Deluge

 It’s hard to believe that one week ago I was saying good-bye to my church family at Eben-Ezer Mennonite Church. I wanted to share the good-bye speech I shared with them here, as it explains a bit about my discernment process in deciding to transition from Eben-Ezer to MCC + MWC in Bogotá. When I spoke at Eben-Ezer I add-libbed a fair bit, so this isn’t exactly how it went… but close enough :)

Good Morning family.

We’re going through some big transitions here at Eben-Ezer, and I’m also going through some transitions. And changes are exciting, yet they can also feel daunting and hard. Still we have hope and trust that God is with us through everything, and that the Holy Spirit is at work in our midst.

I am so thankful and blessed that we are a family. You are my church family and that means so much. And I want to have right relationship with my church family, so if I have hurt or done wrong to anyone, I apologize and ask for your forgiveness.

I also want to thank all of you for the support, encouragement and love you have blessed me with. You have gifted me with many opportunities to grow. Our church family has helped me to grow in faith in Christ, and walked with me through good and hard times. Thank you for trusting me with the leadership of our youth ministry, that I could grow, learn and walk with our youth these past years. What a blessing that has been! We’ve had fun and funny times, learning and growing together. I’m sure they have more embarrassing stories about stuff I’ve done that anything. J

You have helped me go to CBC and graduate, and you’ve been completely behind me as I’ve served with Mennonite World Conference. For this, and the smiles and the hugs, and all the many ways God has blessed me through Eben-Ezer I say thanks.

I believe that God called me to serve here at Eben-Ezer 5.5 years ago, and though I had some doubts and uncertainties I tried to follow that call as best as I was able. And I am so thankful that I did, that I was able to be stretched and to grow here so much, with my church family.

And now I feel like I have come to another time in my life where God is calling me to take a step of faith, to walk with him in a new way that will really stretch me and cause me to grow. I believe he is calling me to go to Colombia with MCC and Mennonite World Conference.

This wasn’t a decision that I made lightly. I had been in some discussions with MCC and they encouraged me to apply for this position. I started the conversation about this position, to learn more about it, and within a week and a half they offered it to me and I had only a few days to decide, because they needed this person to start very soon.

To make this decision I focused on discerning in two main ways. First of all I discerned by spending time with God. I prayed with scripture, I prayed by myself and with others, seeking to hear God’s wisdom and leading. The second thing I focused on was discerning in community. I talked about it with several Christian friends and family, who know me well. We discussed pros and cons, and all the impacts this decision would have. I was seeking to hear God’s wisdom and leading through others. It was very important for me to not only think of how this transition would impact me, but also my family, and my church family. I felt like this time of transitions at Eben-Ezer was also the right time for me to transition. Through this process of praying and discerning with others I came to feel peace about making this transition to serving with MCC and MWC.

So what exactly will I be doing? I am going to be a voluntary international service worker with MCC in Bogota, Colombia for three years. I will be working 80% with MWC and 20% with MCC Colombia, as a Web communications worker. This means that for MWC I will be in charge of all the content on their website, updating it, and putting up new information from around the world in the global church. I will also be managing MWC’s social media, how they work with facebook, and possibly other social media websites, to connect with more people around the world. For MCC Colombia I will be managing their part of the MCC website and their web communication for some of their programs.

I’ll be living and working in Bogota. MWC and MCC Colombia share an office building in Bogota. At first I will live with a host family, and they will help me get used to living in Bogota. Then after a few months I will move into an apartment, on my own or with a roommate. I already speak some Spanish and am very excited to get a lot better at it!

Right now I’m feeling a lot of different things. I’m joyful to be able to live out my faith with Christian brothers and sisters in Colombia. I’m also sad to say good bye to friends, family and my church family. I’m nervous about life in Colombia and I’m also excited about taking this step.

I can’t express how grateful and thankful I am for the support and love of my church family, in Eben-Ezer and MCBC. I’m really going to miss you. I know that God is at work here and hope that we may all continue to be open to being led by the Holy Spirit as we follow Jesus Christ together.